14.12.09

Due to a minor medical leave of absence, my madre has left me the man of the house for the past 3 nights. I can blast music, watch movies aside from ones played on TCM in black and white (but still all dubbed in Spanish), eat normal sized meals and relax. Although I do not know how to turn on the radiators and it is 16 degress centigrade (6o Fahrenheit), I heat my legs and feet up under the table with a built-in heat lamp in the tv room. My madre's family members have stopped by with a variety of dishes, meals, and sweets for me to eat as if I were somehow suffering from this leave of absense- ha!

I have visited my madre in her hospital room a block up the street and told her that I am living large, as always, because she is the queen of Palma and I, her princess. She joked about staying in the hospital a while longer to let me enjoy her palace and her friends' and family's cooking charity (it's truly like having my own apartment, but overly decorated with grandma knicknacks).

Life is good, and Antonia is well enough to be my slave again. I await the queen's return tomorrow.

After burning my glutes in my new favorite gym class I hit the shower, or should I say showers. As I rinsed out the last of my conditioner another girl came in, which startled me, being the incapable of nudity American. The steam, hot water, and shock combined caused one of my contact lenses to flip inside out, so I had to pull it out and fidget facing the wall for a minute trying to pop it back in, which was impossible with my wet hands and my steamy surroundings. I am pretty sure the girl thought I was a freak after pulling at my eyeball and hanging out in the shower like a creeper, so I gave up and resorted to tossing it in the trash on my way out. I thought, "maybe this will help strengthen my vision in the eye without a lense, if it has to work harder."

After dizzily getting dressed, I made my way to the bus stop ten minutes away passing Spanish college guys along the path with one eye closed in an attempt to see who they were with my good eye. I doubt they saw it as a wink, but more like I had a twitchy squint problem. I learned that wearing only one contact leaves you with a headache, not stronger vision in the weak eye.

Tomorrow I think I will throw glasses in my gym bag as a means of avoiding a locker room nickname like the "squinty shower creeper".

2.12.09

The homeless man who passed away yesterday on a park bench outside of my apartment was not, contrary to spreading popular belief, murdered by another homeless man. The rumor started after 4-5 months of bulling between one homeless man and the recently deceased. After a few hours it was confirmed that he passed away unharmed.

Who knows, maybe he froze in his drunken slumber. He was always a gentleman, saying good morning to passersby and never bothering park.

Sources: my madre, the lady at the front desk of my building, and Lorenzo, the homeless man who frequents my apartment to fix things and get his payments (in whisky).

1.12.09

I kicked off the holiday season with Thanksgiving in Scotland at the University of St. Andrew's with a bunch of HC kids. We had lots of food and fun, golfing, suffering in the wind, seeing Edinbourgh's carnival, castle, old and new cities. Drank tea at the birthplace of Harry Potter, the Elephant Cafe in Edinbourgh, where J. K. Rowling began writing her magically delicious series.

But after returning to little isle of Mallorca, Christmas really started setting in. Lights are strung up over every street and up-popped sidewalk vendors selling home made leather goods, candies, meats, cheeses, olives, glass wear: everything delicious. My madre has set up a nativity scene in the living room and keeps popping her head into my room whistling Christmas carols. Despite the colder weather, spirits are high here on the island!